Edge of the Rain

by Beverley Harper

  They were in one of the Land Rovers, parked on a ridge, looking out over a grassy plain, dotted here and there with stunted, flat-topped acacias. The wind was blowing a little harder and sand blew against the vehicle, sounding like a thousand pinpricks in a sheet of paper.

  A sudden movement to his left and, where the ridge descended, and where there had been nothing a moment ago, stood the glossy rippling black stallion. Alex nudged Marv and raised a finger to his lips. The stallion was no more than twenty feet away. His head was turned from them. Alex didn’t think he knew they were there.

  Then Nightmare stepped over the ridge. Alex caught his breath. Her years in the desert had hardened her body. She was slim and muscular. A foal joined her and the stallion. Then another horse. Alex recognised it as the one he had christened Diamond. The foal had Nightmare’s colouring. Alex knew he was looking at her entire family. She noticed the Land Rover and snorted with fright, stamping and tossing her head, poised to run.

  Very slowly, Alex opened the door. ‘What are you doing? Get back. That stallion will kill you.’ Alex called softly to Nightmare. She stood still, rippling, bobbing her head. He called her again and she took a step forward. The stallion exploded towards him, eyes wide, ears back, teeth bared. Alex stood his ground. ‘Jesus, man, get in the car,’ Marv hissed.

  The stallion was prancing just out of reach. He was half-rearing, his front hooves kicking out, missing Alex deliberately, warning him off. Nightmare whinnied and the stallion wheeled and retreated.

  It took her ten minutes to cover the distance between them. She walked two steps, stopped, danced sideways, stopped, moved backwards, stopped, all the time snorting and blowing, neighing an inquiry. Alex spoke gently to her the whole time.

  Finally, she was in front of him. If he’d reached out he could have touched her. She extended her head towards him, breathing noisily, her calls lowered and softened to that which was like clearing her throat. Alex lifted his face to hers and blew softly into her nostrils. Nightmare jerked once, then gave herself up to the sensual and wholly personal pleasure of contact with the only human she had ever trusted.

  If she had been so inclined, she could have taken his face off. But somewhere in the back of her wild senses, she remembered him. Alex blew his breath and she breathed it in and knew he was her friend.

  He raised his hand and gently stroked her neck. The stallion called and Nightmare jerked back but the wildness in her eyes was replaced by trust. ‘Off you go, lovely one.’ His voice, so close to her ear, startled her. Like the stallion, she wheeled, kicking sand. Then she flew down the ridge to join her family. They disappeared as quickly as they’d come.

  Alex was breathing hard. The experience had moved him greatly—she was strong and proud and free, yet he had her trust. Standing face to face, breathing his scent into her, was a moment of the purest most perfect exhilaration.

  ‘You fool!’ Marv was standing next to him. ‘What made you do that?’

  ‘I knew her a long time ago. She remembers me.’

  Marv snorted. ‘Bullshit!’

  But Alex knew she did. He looked at her tracks along the ridge. The wind picked up some of the disturbed sand, exposing a rock.

  A rock! A real rock! A dark yellow real rock! He ran to it and dropped to his knees, brushing away sand. It was weird-looking rock, as though it had once melted then hardened again. Smooth, without the jagged edges. Ridges, rather like the landscape around them, covered its surface. ‘Marv. Come see.’

  He was clearing away more sand when his hand hit something sharp. With an exclamation he looked at his hand. It was bleeding. He brushed more sand. Marv whistled. Lying up against the rock, a perfect octahedral, shiny and bright, was a stone the size of his thumbnail. Alex picked it up and wiped the sand off which came away easily. The stone felt cold and smooth. It looked like glass.

  ‘Is that what I think it is?’ Marv’s voice shook.

  Alex sucked blood from his hand. ‘I think so.’

  ‘The ring. Use the ring.’ Marv was literally hopping with excitement, all disapproval of damaging the ring gone.

  Mentally apologising to his parents, Alex forced one of the points across the onyx ring. ‘This is it. Holy shit! We’ve done it, Marv.’ His ring was scratched from one side to the other.

  They had shovels and sieves in the Land Rover. They worked until dark. But, by the end of the day, they had found no more.

  They carefully mapped their way back to the cattle post. Marv was in such a state of high excitement he forgot to complain about the roaches and ants and even laughed when the shower head flew off and hit him on the head.

  ‘What’s the plan?’ They were sitting by the fire eating sausages off twisted wire forks.

  Alex swigged his beer. ‘Go back tomorrow and keep digging. Bring back loads of sand. Sift like hell and pray we find more. There must be more there, Marv. There can’t be one on its own.’

  ‘Think it’s a pipe?’

  ‘Maybe. They’re out there, I know they’re out there. This find may not be it, but they’re out there somewhere.’

  ‘I didn’t see any indicators.’

  ‘Neither did I and I don’t understand why. Mind you, some of the biggest stones ever found were picked off the ground.’

  ‘Who does the land belong to?’

  ‘It’s tribal. The local Chief grants use of it for grazing. Judging by the lack of cattle out there it’s not being used. That might mean we can apply to lease it.’ Alex hesitated, then added, ‘Marv, if we find a big haul we’ll have to inform the authorities. Technically, that land belongs to the people of Bechuanaland so we’d be honour bound to report it.’

  ‘Ja, man, that’s okay with me. Just so long as I get rich myself.’

  ‘Actually,’ Alex went on as though he hadn’t heard. ‘When independence comes life won’t be easy for the Batswana. They’ve got cattle, that’s it. Just think, Marv, if diamonds are found in large quantities Bechuanaland, or Botswana as it will be then, can get off to a flying start.’

  ‘Ja, man. Just don’t go forgetting about us.’

  ‘Would I do that, Marv?’

  ‘Who knows? You’re a crazy bastard sometimes.

  ’ Alex just grinned at him.

  The next day was Friday. They drove both vehicles back to the rocks, following yesterday’s tracks rather than their map. They worked all day, sweltering and sweating and swearing. But they found no more diamonds. The rocky ridge petered out within thirty feet of yesterday’s find. At the end of the day, hot, tired and disgruntled, they returned to the cattle post, the backs of the Land Rovers sagging noticeably under the weight of sand samples which they had to sieve.

  ‘It probably goes underground,’ Alex said, groaning as he sank into a deckchair.

  ‘We’ll find another ridge,’ Marv pacified him.

  ‘God, I hope so. All this pain must be worth something.’

  ‘There’s more to come,’ Marv reminded him.

  Sieving, as they discovered once they got the hang of it, was hard work, particularly as they could not use water. They had two sizes of sieve. Marv used one with a wide mesh to sift out large pieces of gravel. The other, with a smaller mesh, Alex operated. By the end of the day, the circular motion of sieving had their backs and arms screaming for relief. Swirling the sand would have been easier if they had been able to use water. So too would the up and down movement needed to shake any heavier material to the centre of the sieve, and to the bottom. Water would also have washed their samples, making it easier and quicker to look through them once they had been flipped over onto the hessian sacks. The lack of water made every step twice as hard.

  ‘We get a reprieve tomorrow,’ Alex said. Chrissy was arriving the next day. ‘Uh, Marv.’

  ‘Ja, man.’

  ‘Think you could give us a little private time this weekend?’

  ‘How?’

  ‘I dunno. Go for a drive or something.’

  Marv nodded reflectively but otherwise did
not react. He had a knowing look on his face which should have warned Alex. On Saturday morning, within minutes of Chrissy’s arrival, he said pointedly, ‘I think I’ll go for a drive.’ He left with a lot of waving and a cunning expression on his face.

  Chrissy watched him drive away with her mouth open. ‘What the hell . . .’

  Alex was laughing. ‘I asked him to give us private time. I didn’t expect he’d do it the moment you arrived.’

  She shook her head. ‘How do you stand it?’

  ‘He’s okay. He means well.’ He took her inside. ‘Well, what do you think?’

  She looked around. ‘It’s great. You have everything you need. I expected something a little more basic.’ She peered through a window. ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake . . .’

  Marv, having made it plain that his absence was so the two of them could make love, had driven half a kilometre away and killed the engine. She could see the Land Rover in the distance. Marv was sitting out there waiting. ‘Surely he doesn’t think . . .’

  Alex was more amused than angry. ‘I’m afraid he does. That’s Marv for you.’

  ‘That’s outrageous!’ Chrissy was not amused at all.

  ‘Chrissy, he thinks he’s doing us a favour, he’s not trying to be rude. Marv just doesn’t think the way most of us do.’

  ‘Does he think at all?’ she asked sarcastically.

  Alex gave up and helped her carry the supplies she’d brought with her inside. There was no point in trying to explain Marv to anyone.

  Twenty minutes later Marv returned, grinning and asking Alex loudly, ‘Was that enough time?’

  ‘If looks could kill,’ Alex thought, ‘Marv’d be a dead man.’

  Somehow they got through the rest of the day. Alex wanted to show Chrissy where they’d found the diamond. Marv thought it was a great idea. ‘Hang on, I’ll get some beers.’ Alex heard Chrissy’s teeth grind. The next morning, knowing how desperately she needed a break from Marv’s company, he suggested taking Chrissy for a drive. ‘Great idea,’ Marv said. ‘Hang on, I’ll bring some beers.’

  Chrissy groaned.

  They drove to a spot they found a few days earlier, about ten miles away. There was nothing special about it save the fact it had a few trees which were larger than most. The shade provided relief from the hot sun. Chrissy jumped out and stood stretching, her hands on the small of her back. Alex got down from the driver’s seat and went round to the back of the vehicle. Marv, who had insisted he sit in the middle so she did not have to straddle the gear stick, followed Chrissy. Then he saw the lioness. She was lying in the shade, a scant ten feet from them.

  ‘Shit! Don’t move.’

  Chrissy had walked a few steps away from the Land Rover. She looked back at Marv and, in doing so, caught sight of the big cat. ‘Stand still,’ Marv hissed at her.

  Alex poked his head around the back of the vehicle to ask if anyone wanted a beer. What he saw made him go cold. Marv had his hand outstretched towards Chrissy who stood stock still, her eyes wide, staring at the lioness now on her feet, a mere couple of steps and a leap away. The three of them—Chrissy, Marv and the lioness—appeared frozen.

  The lioness twitched her tail. Christ, she’s going to charge. Alex tried to move forward but found himself frozen as well. His head screamed at him to move but his body would not do it.

  ‘Look down,’ Marv hissed urgently, through clenched teeth. ‘For Christ’s sake, Chrissy, look down, you’re challenging her.’

  But Chrissy was too scared to hear him, let alone obey his words.

  The lioness flattened her ears.

  A blood-curdling yowl came from Marv as he stood there. It started low, like a growl, but fear put a tremor in it and, as it grew louder it became a scream. Alex stood paralysed. The lioness, bunched to attack, looked at Marv. By now he was screaming a kind of yodel. His arms flew in circles. Suddenly Marv galvanised himself forward, rushing straight at the big cat, leaping and screaming like an animated windmill in desperate need of oiling. In the face of such a fearful display, the lioness decided retreat might be a more sensible option. She turned and faded back into the bush.

  Alex’s paralysis left him and he ran to Chrissy who was shaking uncontrollably. He caught her to him and held her. Over her head he saw Marv turn, grin, go as white as a ghost and then, bent double, run a short distance before vomiting out his fear. With a face still drained of all colour and pouring with perspiration, he walked to the back of the Land Rover and, with shaking hands, grabbed a bottle of beer and whipped the cap off using the back bumper of the vehicle. He drank half the bottle before he lowered it again. ‘Holy shit. I don’t want to do that again.’ He was grinning at them.

  Alex felt Chrissy stir in his protective arms. She moved back from him. She had tears running down her face as she went to Marv and held him. Marv looked uncomfortably over at Alex. ‘Get your woman off me, man.’

  Chrissy laughed and held him tighter. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered. ‘That was incredibly brave.’

  ‘Ah hell, Chrissy.’ Marv grinned, delighted. ‘It was nothing.’

  Alex moved to them and put his arms around them both. The two people he loved had, in the space of a few seconds, become more important than anything else in the world.

  The lioness had cubs in the shade. She came back for them and they watched her from the safety of the vehicle. Although totally confused and demoralised by Marv’s charge, her mothering instincts made her return, snarling a warning. She stood next to her cubs, tail flicking. ‘Let’s leave her to it,’ Alex said, starting the engine.

  The lioness halfheartedly chased after the vehicle, restoring her self-esteem.

  Suddenly, Marv could do no wrong. Chrissy adored him. ‘I’m sorry if I appeared rude,’ she apologised.

  ‘That’s okay.’ Marv would forgive her anything; she was Alex’s woman.

  ‘You knew I didn’t exactly like you, didn’t you?’

  ‘Ah hell, Chrissy, it doesn’t matter.’

  She put her arm through his. ‘It does matter.’

  ‘Well you like me now don’t you?’ Her touching him both embarrassed and pleased him.

  She kissed his cheek. ‘I love you to pieces.’

  ‘Aw, Chrissy, cut it out.’ He was just like a big kid.

  Alex glanced sideways at them, smiling. He guessed Chrissy had just discovered what he always knew: Marv’s loyalty was a precious gift. If his personality took a little patience, and his constant presence took a lot of patience, then patience was what they would give him in return.

  For the next month the three of them were inseparable at weekends, either in Gaberones or at the cattle post. But the diamonds continued to elude them.

  ‘This is a ridge, right?’ Marv asked one day.

  ‘It’s a ridge, Marv. It’s the ridgiest ridge I’ve ever seen.’

  Marv treated him to one of his ‘you’re crazy’ looks. ‘Something has to be holding it up, right?’

  ‘Right, Marv. It sure as hell isn’t standing on thin air.’

  Another look. ‘So how come we can’t find it? Where is the bastard? How many places can a rock hide?’

  ‘Under there. Under tons of bloody sand. It’s lying under our feet laughing at us. And the diamonds in it are winking at each other. They’re saying, “Ha ha, you can’t find us,” that’s what they’re saying. And you know why, Marv? You want to know why? Because the desert doesn’t want us to find them. Because it’s the best kept bloody secret Mother Nature ever devised.’ He knew he sounded desperate. In truth, he was getting desperate.

  Marv gave him another look. ‘It’s there somewhere,’ he muttered. Since finding the diamond on, what they now called, Nightmare’s Ridge, Marv was as keen as Alex to keep looking. The six weeks’ time limit he’d set was forgotten. But when, after two months of frustration, they’d still found nothing, Alex began to think of visiting !Ka. He knew he could find the clan. Chrissy wanted to go with him. The opportunity to observe one of the few remaining hunting and g
athering people whose ways had changed little in thousands of years excited both her personal and professional interest. ‘I’ll need to take some time off work,’ she said.

  Marv, for once, decided to stay behind.

  A week before they left, Chrissy began to look troubled. ‘What’s wrong?’ Alex asked. Alex and Marv had gone to Gaberones for the weekend and the three of them were enjoying a cold beer at the tennis club.

  ‘An old school friend is coming to see me. I can’t go with you, Alex. She’s arriving late next week. I tried to telephone but she’s already left home. She’s travelling somewhere in South Africa. I’m so sorry to miss this trip, I was looking forward to it.’

  ‘I can pick her up at the airport.’ No trouble to Marv. A friend of Chrissy’s was a. . . ‘I’ll take her to the cattle post so she’ll be there when you get back. She’ll be as right as rain. She can help me dig.’

  Chrissy still looked troubled.

  ‘What? Won’t she like the desert or something?’ Alex could see she was having second thoughts, but he wanted Chrissy to come. He was looking forward to introducing her to the clan.

  ‘Pru is a little different,’ Chrissy hedged. ‘She’d like the desert but . . . well . . . I’m not sure she’d fit in with us.’

  ‘Everyone fits in with us,’ Marv said happily. ‘We’re very nice.’

  ‘Yes but Pru is . . . she’s . . . dammit, I like Pru but she’s bossy and opinionated and horsy and downright upper class and she’ll try to tell everyone what to do.’ Chrissy looked ashamed. ‘Pru is an acquired taste. We go back a long way. But she’s not everybody’s cup of tea.’

  ‘Don’t worry about Pru,’ Marv said kindly. ‘I’ll sort her out.’ He rose. ‘Who wants a beer?’

  Chrissy rose too. ‘Excuse me.’ She went towards the ladies’ toilet.

  Alex gazed around. People were on the court, sprawled in chairs or talking at the bar. The afternoon had a lazy, laid-back Saturday afternoon feel to it. After the heat, sand and frustration of the desert, he was enjoying being back in civilisation.